Support for jihadists in Syria swells as US backing of rebels falls short http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/1101/Support-for-jihadists-in-Syria-swells-as-US-backing-of-rebels-falls-short#.UJVsyVRNmSI.twitter … via @CSMonitor
4:13 PM - 3 Nov 12 · Details
Support for jihadists in Syria swells as US backing of rebels falls short
US reluctance to provide weapons and cash to Syrian rebels is increasing the appeal of joining with well-funded and well-armed jihadists, many of them from abroad.
By Scott Peterson, Staff writer / November 1, 2012
In this Tuesday, Oct. 30, photo, a Syrian woman is stopped and questioned by rebels at a checkpoint in the Bustan Al-Pasha neighborhood, the boundary of the controlled area by rebel fighters at the northeast limit of Sheikh Maaksoud in Aleppo, Syria.
Narciso Contreras/AP
- In Pictures: Battle for the heart of Syria: inside Aleppo
ALEPPO, SYRIA
When asked about the role of Islamic jihadists in Syria's long-burning civil war, an Aleppo hospital doctor recalled what prompted one Syrian to join their ranks.
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The man had returned to his house one day to find it had been destroyed by a bomb, and his wife and children among the dead. "Give me one reason why I should not join the jihadists!" the man cried, recalls the doctor. "They will give me my revenge, while all the rest of the world drinks a cup of tea and says, 'Oh, it's so sad.' "
Aleppo has become the crucible of the 20-month rebellion against the rule of President Bashar al-Assad. But despite a rising death toll and a shared aim of removing the Syrian leader, US officials have stopped short of giving decisive support to rebel forces, citing fears that weapons and cash would find their way to Islamist fighters with an anti-US agenda – many of them from abroad – who have joined the fight.
Still, as the desperation in Syria mounts, with tens of thousands dead and no end to the conflict in sight, rebel commanders say the American effort to limit rebel capabilities may be spurring exactly what the United States had hoped to avoid, by extending the war and deepening the influence of Islamist fighters.
Some are Syrians looking for unbridled revenge by joining Islamist units that routinely take on frontline combat. Many others are foreign fighters coming from places as diverse as Chechnya and Iraq, where they often have had past combat experience.
Rebels have received small arms, ammunition, and communications gear from the US and other sources. Yet heavier equipment has not arrived, such as surface-to-air missiles, which rebel commanders say would turn the tide of battle in their favor by stopping Syrian aircraft and helicopters from bombing rebel-controlled territory.
Arming the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA), or not, has become a hot US presidential election issue. In the final debate last week, President Obama said the US was doing “everything we can” to help the opposition, but warned that “to get more entangled militarily in Syria is a serious step,” and that the US had to be “absolutely certain that we know who we are helping.”
Likewise, Republican candidate Mitt Romney said he would “make sure they have the arms necessary to defend themselves,” as long as weapons don’t get into “the wrong hands. Those arms could be used to hurt us down the road.”
But on the ground, many Syrians say the US reluctance to support their cause is yielding more jihadists, and more radical ones.
And it's questionable whether American reluctance is significantly hampering the flow of weapons to jihadists.
"If the Americans do not give us weapons, then the jihadists will get them from somewhere else," says Abu Baraa, a local Aleppo commander. In his view, current US policy "has opened the doors for jihadist Islam, not for moderates.”
Another result, often voiced in this embattled city, is that even though the US shares rebel aims, its limited support for the fight itself has ignited widespread anger toward Washington – and even prompted speculation that the US wants the Syrian regime to win.
"Before the revolution, there were no Al Qaeda here," says Abu Mohammed, the doctor. "When this regime makes these crimes, they come, and come to help.
"The US says their [pro-democracy line only]; Al Qaeda says, 'We will help.' So what do we do, smile to the US and kick out Al Qaeda?" he adds. "The longer [the war] takes, the more of them there will be."
